Silencing of the Transmembrane Transporter (swnT) Gene of the Fungus Slafractonia leguminicola Results in a Reduction of Mycotoxin Transport

Slafractonia leguminicola infects red clover and other legumes, causing black patch disease. This pathogenic fungus also produces two mycotoxins, slaframine and swainsonine, that are toxic to livestock grazing on clover hay or pasture infested with S. leguminicola. Swainsonine toxicosis causes locoism, while slaframine causes slobbers syndrome. The mechanism of toxin secretion by S. leguminicola is poorly understood. The aim of this research was to investigate the role of a putative transmembrane transporter, SwnT, in mycotoxin transport. The swnT gene was silenced by RNA interference using the silencing vector Psilent1, which included inverted repeat transgenes of swnT. This resulted in a significant reduction of swnT transcript levels compared with the controls. Silencing caused a decline in the active efflux of toxins from the mycelia to the media, as shown by LC–MS analysis. Transformants in which swnT was silenced showed higher concentrations of both toxins in the mycelia compared with the concentrations in the media. These transformants exhibited a visibly distinct phenotype with much thicker and shorter mycelia than in the wild type. These transformants were also unable to infect detached clover leaves, unlike the controls, suggesting that SwnT function may play an important role in pathogenesis in addition to mycotoxin transport. This research demonstrates the importance of this transporter to the secretion of mycotoxins for this phytopathogenic fungus.